To meet the increasing demand for large-scale development projects under the "2030 Vision", Saudi Arabia is actively introducing top engineering contracting companies from around the world. Yusuf Altabi, senior industry support analyst of the Saudi Investment Department, said at the 10th the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, "China has a huge and urgent market demand for engineering contracting services."

Al Tabi highlighted the "International Contracting Office (ICO)" program led by the Saudi Ministry of Investment. This initiative aims to provide full process support for international contractors from company registration to participation in major projects through a one-stop service platform, helping them efficiently enter the Saudi market.

The real estate and construction industry in Saudi Arabia is ushering in a historic development opportunity. It is reported that by 2030, Saudi Arabia's construction industry expenditure alone is expected to exceed $1.4 trillion, and the real estate construction area will exceed 1 billion square meters (excluding mega projects). At present, the industry's contribution to non oil GDP has reached 10%.

Currently, Saudi Arabia is advancing mega projects such as NEOM Future City, Red Sea Project, and Lual Medina, while Riyadh is also accelerating the construction of iconic projects such as King Salman Park and Chidya Entertainment City. These projects have significantly increased the demand for services such as engineering design, engineering contracting, and facility management.

The ICO plan will provide services such as standard certification, contractor library establishment, partner docking, and operational support. This platform brings together all key institutions in the Saudi architectural ecosystem, including government departments such as the Ministry of Investment, Ministry of Industry and Mining, General Administration of Taxation and Customs, and NEOM Special Zone. Through this integrated service, enterprise registration and license processing can be shortened to 5-8 weeks, and the certification required for engineering project bidding can be completed within 6-8 weeks.

It is worth noting that according to the September 2025 Zawya project report, Saudi Arabia's mega projects have sparked fierce competition for construction talent and materials, even pushing up costs in surrounding markets such as the United Arab Emirates. Several developers in Dubai have set up internal contracting departments due to difficulties in attracting external contractors to bid. Editor/Xu Shengpeng